This should end the confusion: Internal and external diameter of fused silica capillaries do not necessarily coincide. The 'thicker' capillary may actually have the 50u (in some cases 75u) internal diameter required for the reference gas introduction. The flow through this capillary should be 1/16th of the major flow only in order to maintain sensitivity. Please remember the Poisseulle law that relates the viscous flow through long capillaries to the 4th power of the radius. Regards Willi Willi Brand Isotope facility of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena Germany <[log in to unmask]>